6 Great Exercises for a Toned Butt

It's never a bad time of year to have a beautiful butt! So many people focus on the "summer bikini body", but you should do exercises that give you that body all year around. That includes paying plenty of attention to your lower body: your quads, hamstrings, calves, and glutes. Below, we've got a few great exercises for a toned butt. Mix them into your workout, and you'll give your booty the tightening and lifting you want:

Sumo Squat

The Sumo Squat is a wide-stance squat, so it changes up the angle of the exercise. Instead of focusing primarily on your quads, it places a lot more emphasis on your glutes. It also hits your inner thighs to get rid of the excess fat there, and it will even improve your hip mobility. You'll find that it's an excellent lower body exercise to take the strain off your back. To perform the exercise: spread your feet slightly wider than shoulder width, pointing your toes outward. With your back straight and core tight, bend your knees and sit back on your heels as you lower your butt. Drop until your thighs are parallel with the floor (a 90-degree angle) before coming back up.

Squat Jumps

If you want to kick your cardio up a notch, mixing a bit of high intensity training in with your resistance training is the way to go. Not only will it help you get in better shape, but it will speed up the fat-burning. Squat Jumps are a killer exercise, one that will push your heart and lungs to the limit. To perform the exercise: stand with your feet spread shoulder width apart. Keeping your core tight, drop into a normal squat, then come up with explosive force to jump as high as you can. Use your muscles to control your landing and go down into a squat.

Box Jumps

Box Jumps are another form of cardiovascular and explosive training that hit your lower body muscles like a boss. To perform the exercise: stand in front of a box, a weight bench, or a solid ledge. Jump up onto the ledge, then drop back down to the floor. Repeat 10-15 times for a single set. The higher you can make the box or ledge, the harder you push your body!

Step-Ups

Step-Ups are a classic lower body exercise, one that will hit your quads, glutes, and hamstrings effectively. Use a bit of weight, and you'll see excellent results from the efforts. To perform the exercise: stand before a bench, ledge, or box, holding dumbbells in each hand. Step your right foot up onto the box, and raise your left leg behind you as high as you can. Come back down on your left foot and replace your right foot on the floor. That's one rep! Repeat it 10-15 times per leg.

Deadlifts

Deadlifts are an amazing lower back exercise, but done right they can do wonders for your glutes. The stiff-legged deadlift is the truly effective one for a tighter booty. To perform the exercise: spread your feet shoulder width apart, lock your knees, and grip barbell in your hand. Keeping your back straight, lower the barbell without bending your legs, then return to standing position.

Deep Squat

A Deep Squat increases the mobility of your hips, but it can also tone up your butt. To perform the exercise: stand in regular Squat position, but as you go into the squat, don't stop until your butt is as close to the floor as you can get it. Try working without weights at first, then slowly adding weight in as you master the form.